1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for monitoring dilutions of manufactured filter cigarettes.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a machine for manufacturing filter cigarettes or a so-called filter attachment, filter cigarettes are manufactured by connecting filters to cigarettes which are fed from a cigarette manufacturing machine. More specifically, the filter attachment is provided with a cigarette transportation path along which the cigarettes are transport in pairs. Each pair of cigarettes are arranged in a line on the transportation path, and are transported in a direction perpendicular to the axis thereof. After a filter plug is supplied between each pair of cigarettes, in the process of transporting the cigarettes, a paper piece is wound around the cigarettes and the filter plug. Thereupon, the cigarettes and the filter plug are connected to one another, thus forming a double filter cigarette. Thereafter, the double filter cigarette is cut in the center to be divided into two filter cigarettes, which are then separated axially from each other.
Further, the filter attachment comprises a device for detecting the respective dilutions of the manufactured filter cigarettes and a device for eliminating defective filter cigarettes, if any, in accordance with the results of detection by the detecting device. Thus, only nondefective filter cigarettes can be delivered from the filter attachment to a wrapping machine.
The detecting device can display the detected dilutions of the filter cigarettes on an analog or digital display device, which is located, for example, on a console panel of the filter attachment.
However, an operator of the filter attachment cannot easily grasp the trend of change of the dilutions of the filter cigarettes by the information from the display device only. In practice, therefore, the operator seizes the dilutions of the filter cigarettes indirectly by the incidence of defectives eliminated by means of the elimination device.
If the defectives increase, the operator must regulate the state of winding of the paper piece, which has a great influence on the dilutions of the filter cigarettes, or adjust the diameter of each cigarette rod manufactured by means of the cigarette manufacturing machine. By this time, however, numerous defectives will have already been produced.
Moreover, the detecting device can detect the dilution of only one of left- and right-hand filter cigarettes obtained by cutting each double filter cigarette, and cannot detect that of the other.